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Tanzania Plans to Launch CBDC After eNaira Launch: Report

The country’s central bank has reportedly begun preparations for its own CBDC.

Updated May 11, 2023, 6:31 p.m. Published Nov 29, 2021, 11:58 a.m.

Tanzania Flag Against City Blurred Background At Sunrise Backlight (Getty Images/stockphoto)

Tanzania is preparing to launch a digital form of its local currency, the Tanzanian shilling, the governor of the Bank of Tanzania said, according to a Bloomberg report.

The country will follow in Nigeria’s footsteps and launch its own digital currency, Governor Florens Luoga announced last Thursday.
Nigeria launched its eNaira in October this year, making it the first African country to issue its own digital money.
Luoga said the move to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is to ensure that Tanzania is not left behind in CBDC adoption.
”The Bank of Tanzania has already begun preparations to have its own CBDC,” Luoga reportedly said during a finance conference in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania.
At the same event, Luoga said Tanzania remains wary of cryptocurrencies and advises the public to be cautious, according to Bloomberg.
In June, Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan urged the central bank to prepare for the adoption of cryptocurrency.

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Sandali Handagama

Sandali Handagama is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for policy and regulations, EMEA. She is an alumna of Columbia University's graduate school of journalism and has contributed to a variety of publications including The Guardian, Bloomberg, The Nation and Popular Science. Sandali doesn't own any crypto and she tweets as @iamsandali